I'm dead tired and it's more or less my fault enjoy.
Part I
Uryuu was dragged back to consciousness with what felt like a jackhammer to the spine. The second impact that came right after nearly sent him back into unconsciousness, but he held on, driven by rage alone towards the two bumbling idiots that had just landed on him.
He heard a third thump, this one right next to him, instead of on top of him, followed by an, "…Are you okay?" from Chad.
"Peachy," he croaked, and then he shoved the Hollows off him with little mercy. Gingerly, he accepted the hand outstretched to him, levering himself onto his feet. (His hands were warm.) "Where are we?" he asked a little too quickly. "And why did you guys feel the need to land right on top of me?"
"Well…" Pesche began, "after you fell, I may have… slipped…."
"And I tripped trying to catch him!" Dondochaka seemed way too proud of that statement.
"I jumped," Chad said.
Uryuu let out a sigh, eyes going up to the square opening in the ceiling, one that was slowly closing by itself. "That answers one of my questions, but I still don't know where…"
He looked at the room, really looked at it for the first time. The place they were in was huge, just a little wider than his school's gym and twice as long, pillars lining the walls. There were no doors and no windows.
"Not sure," Pesche said with a shiver, "but this place really gives me the creeps."
That was another way of putting it.
"We might be able to head back up the way we came," Uryuu settled on. "It's best if we keep…"
He trailed off, startled by the sound of stone grinding against stone. His bow was up in a minute, Chad's already activated Shikai clenched in a fist. Their eyes snapped to a section of the wall opening to a shadowy corridor, a figure stepping out, their heels clicking against the tile.
"After all the traps you missed… to think that one would get you in the end…" His voice echoed in the large room, a disappointed edge to his words. "I'm getting ahead of myself, though."
It was possibly the most human looking Arrancar Uryuu had come across, stepping forward in sleek white robes wearing glasses of all things. He reached up to the headset in his ear, tearing it away, sending a wave of disgust through Uryuu as a tentacle about the length of his hand ripped out along with it. He flashed them a cruel smile.
"I will only say it once, so make sure you remember it. I am Szayelaporro Granz, the Octava Espada."
"I thought that lab was familiar," Dondochaka cried. "Even us weaklings know of Lord Granz's research!"
Uryuu stiffened. "So, that was yours up there?"
"Yep!" he said with a grin. "And I can't say I'm a fan of what you've done to my computer, but… no matter."
He begun to stalk towards them, only to be stopped by an arrow sent right at his feet. A warning. His smile didn't drop, but he kept his distance. His eyes raked over the group, stopping at Uryuu in particular, lighting up with interest. Uryuu did not like this.
"Interesting…" he muttered to himself, "to think the rumors were true."
"Okay, I am officially creeped out!" Pesche yelled.
The Espada continued, "I was going to say that you lot didn't interest me, but seeing you in person, that's no longer the case. Originally, I made this for two of your companions, a Miss Orihime Inoue and Mister Renji Abarai, the two that killed my brother."
Something about the way he said it set Uryuu on edge. He seemed far too happy to talk about the death of a family member.
"Of course, I'll still be searching for them later–"
He was cut off from saying anything else by Chad bolting through the air, punch just barely missing, leaving cracks in the wall behind him.
"I'm not mad or anything," he continued, "just interested. He was one of my original lab rats, after all."
Uryuu fired another arrow, this time right beside his head. "I've had enough of your chatter."
"Oh, but I haven't had enough of yours!" Granz drew his sword. "A live specimen of your kind is so rare these days!" He blurred out of sight, being forced to a stop by Chad who held off his blade with an armored hand, pushing him back with a glancing blow to the chin.
The Espada landed some meters away, tongue darting out to swipe at the dribbled of blood that went down his lip. "I must warn you," he panted out with a smirk, "I'm not a very good fighter."
"We don't mind," Uryuu said. He fired.
What began was a sort of rapid dance, Uryuu firing after an evading Espada while Chad attempted to keep him pinned down for more than a moment. The Espada didn't fire back, preferring to dodge, but for being a poor fighter, he sure was fast.
He struggled to visually track the Arrancar as he ducked under a punch of Chad's, side stepped two arrows, dodged back as Chad swung wide, blocked one more arrow with his Zanpakuto, and… Yeah, Uryuu was getting tired just looking at him. Why couldn't Granz just stay still?
And why couldn't he stop talking?
"Adjust for this frequency…"
Most of it was nonsense, at least to Uryuu's ears.
"No apparent Bankai…"
He wasn't even talking to them. It was like he was stuck in his own little world, something that Uryuu found quite insulting. They were still here.
"...Continues to stay within a range of ten meters…"
If he didn't know better, he'd say he was taking notes.
Before Uryuu was allowed to dwell on that thought he caught a blur of motion out of the corner of his eye, a huge figure clambering in as a few more scrambled through the entrance underfoot. All of their eyes were glued on the fight, something that Uryuu did not like one bit.
"…Weakness in Achilles tendon, apply pressure like so!" The Espada side stepped another punch, two fingers brought up to his lips that were sizzling with heat by the time he pointed them at Chad's leg, a controlled cero nailing him in the ankle.
For a second Chad stumbled with a hiss, nearly falling. Uryuu saw the moment where the Hollow was going to take advantage of that, sword gleaming. He fired a volley of arrows, forcing him back.
"You alright?" Uryuu called.
"…Old injury," Chad said through grit teeth, forcing himself to his feet. "How did he know?"
"I may not have any notes on you two," the Espada said with a grin, "but it's never too late to start."
So, he was analyzing them as they went, huh? This could be a problem. Before he had the chance to communicate this to the others the Espada was right in front of him, pommel of his sword driving into Uryuu's stomach, nearly sending him to his knees.
"Except for you, Quincy. Lord Ichimaru sends his regards."
Bastard. Chad swept in for another punch. It missed.
"Can't you do anything other than swing your fists?" Granz asked. Uryuu felt a pang of satisfaction as in the next moment his eyes widened.
Chad shifted his stance, a blast of energy going from his braced hand, the Espada struggling to block. Granz's hands came out quite singed, his gloves nearly burned off. He let out a growl.
"We need to keep him guessing," Uryuu hissed. "If there's an ability you haven't used yet, now would be the time."
The Shinigami nodded, eyes darting around. "Keep him busy."
Uryuu was on it, reaching at his back for something he'd been saving for such an occasion. It was out of his wheelhouse, yes, but it would work… hopefully. Seele Schneider in hand he charged forward, wielding his specialized arrow like a sword.
He clashed with Szayel, sparks flying. Being this close to an opponent, really seeing the emotions on his face, the grin just barely making up for the tension at his eyes, the narrowing, the hint of distaste underneath.
Their swords met once, twice, and then an electrifying third time when Uryuu felt a heat at his back.
"Duck!" Chad cried. Uryuu dropped to the ground just in time. The Espada did not. "El Directo!"
Uryuu just barely caught a glimpse of what happened. He saw the shifting of Chad's shoulder piece, the steam coming from it, the wide beam that came from his palm, hitting the Espada square in the chest. He screamed.
The spectating Hollows came rushing in, Uryuu flipping his Seele Schneider and shooting down two of them. Chad fired at a third, vaporizing it completely, but… none of the Hollows ever approached the two, instead rushing to their master.
Said master was swaying on his feet, badly burned and looking like a stiff breeze would lay him flat. Uryuu's heart swelled.
His stomach then curled when the Espada reached for his nearest underling, a stout one with an odd tuft of hair at the very top of its head. He dragged it to him, opened his mouth wide, and bit down tearing off about half of its body in the process. What he did was not so much eating as it was absorbing him in a single gulp.
Granz let out a sigh of relief, steam rising from his body, his wounds disappearing with it. The only trace that remained was the top half of his robes, in tatters around him.
"You ruined my clothes," he panted out. Uryuu was too busy gaping to respond. This just got much more complicated. The Espada, smug bastard that he was, smirked at him, turning to his entourage with a wave, dragging a half-eaten corpse behind him. "I'll be back," he promised. "I have to change out of this mess, but make sure to contemplate all the horrible ways I'm going to kill you while I'm gone."
He left the same way he came, the Hollows following.
Pesche was the first to speak. "So, uh, we're running, right? Everyone on the same page?"
"No," Chad said, and though he was questioning his own sanity while doing it, Uryuu thought the same thing.
"He's after our… friends," Uryuu explained. "We can't just let him run loose. Besides, I think I have an idea, a way of stopping him before he has a chance to use that second form of his."
"He may have already activated it."
"…We'll just have to hope he didn't." With that he pulled out his Seele Schneider, five, to be precise. "Everyone, follow my lead."
Part II
Tatsuki did not like being scared.
"You really wrecked the place, didn't you?" She asked. She was glancing back at the building she had found her old friend in. An entire section of the wall was gone. So was the ceiling.
"I…" he sounded.
For a moment, she waited patiently. Then, her patience ran out, and she squeezed him lightly on the side. She wasn't going to lose him now. His head jerked up, and for a moment he glared at her before his eyes turned cloudy again.
"It was…" He heaved in a breath. "…Kaien…"
She froze, staring at him. He just kept his eyes on his feet, seemingly unaware of what he even said. She turned her focus back to supporting him.
…
Tatsuki held her breath as Ichigo finally stirred. His teeth were grit in pain, his eyes squeezed shut, but in the next moment they opened, and that was good enough for her.
"Fucking finally," she breathed out. "You awake?"
"Awake," he groaned. He sounded completely out of it, not that she expected much else. "Where are we?"
"Some supply shed," she rushed. "Doesn't matter. Hey, what the hell did you mean when you said 'Kaien?'"
He froze. Good.
"You said his name when you were going in and out of it back there, and you never talk about him. Tell me why."
He looked away; eyes hardened. He was making that face, the "I've got the world on my shoulders, no you can't help me" face.
"It wasn't nothing," she said, before he could even try that excuse. "He was involved somehow, wasn't he? How? He was my uncle too, godsdamnit!"
"It's complicated!"
"Make it un-complicated! I have a right to know!"
"I…" his voice cracked, and that one sound was enough to send a pang of regret through her. "Later," he croaked out. "I can tell you later, just…"
She knew that later would never come. That he would find another excuse to act like a damn hero if she waited.
"Okay," she breathed. "Later. For now… we gotta get out of here. Renji's still not back, and I'm sensing some action outside. This place isn't safe." She hefted one of his arms over her shoulder, dragging him to his feet.
"If it's our friends, we need to help," he groaned out.
"We'll get there when we get there, numbnuts."
Walking went painfully slow, and he shuddered with just about every step. If they were caught, they were screwed. She mentally ran through what they would do if when they walked out of that door it was to a swarm of Hollows, or worse, an Espada.
With little ceremony she kicked open the door, ducking out, and nearly ducking back in when a figure ran by. She stopped herself just in time. They were wearing black.
"They came," she gasped out. Then, her brain caught up to her. "Hey! I got wounded!"
The Shinigami that had just darted by stopped in their tracks, eyes widening when they saw the two. "Shit! We need a stretcher! Stay right there. Someone will be with you in just a moment." Then, they ran off, not letting Tatsuki get a word in.
Then, suddenly Ichigo slumped against her. His weight too much, she buckled, forced to let him down. Her heart pounded. She nearly reached for her Zanpakuto when a hand laid on her shoulder.
"It's alright." The kind voice of Captain Unohana washed over her. It was then, that exhaustion hit, that she finally felt relief. She looked up to the faces of Captain Unohana and Captain Shiba and felt like maybe they had a chance again.
"May I take a look at him?" Captain Unohana asked.
"I, sir, yes, uh!" Tatsuki fumbled.
"At ease," Isshin said with a shaky grin.
They both watched with bated breath as Unohana examined the Lieutenant with glowing hands. She mumbled something imperceptible to herself as she scanned him, eyes only darting up when that stretcher came.
"You did well," the Captain said with a gentle smile. "I'll have him healed in time." She hurried off with her subordinates, barking orders with an authority Tatsuki had only seen once or twice from her. To her surprise, Isshin stayed, hand on her shoulder.
"See?" he said with a smile. "He'll be fine."
Was he saying that to her, or to himself? She let out a sigh. "I know. He's tough."
He hummed, hand going back into his robe. "You should see the tents these guys set up. It's pretty amazing."
"And the Hollows just let you set up camp here?" she asked incredulously.
"Well, not let exactly. We had a bit of convincing to do."
"Unohana bullied them into letting us do this, didn't she?"
"Yeah…" he let out a laugh. "Something like that. I'd take advantage of it while you can. You're looking a little rough."
"No time," Tatsuki said resolutely. "I sent off one of my friends, earlier, and he still hasn't come back. I need to make sure he's alright."
He stared at her, then, eyebrow raised.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing," he said with a shrug. "It's just good to see the old you again. Let's go find this friend of yours, kid."
She just about grinned, then, ready to follow. She paused for a moment, remembering something. "Uh… sir, there's something I need to tell you about the fight Ichigo was in. He mentioned…" She trailed off, trying to figure how to put this.
"…Yes?" She made the mistake of looking at him when he said this.
He looked so open, his worry for his son worn right on his sleeve. She thought of how she was going to tell him that Ichigo had said his baby brother's name, and suddenly she knew exactly how Ichigo had felt earlier.
"…An Espada," she said. "He mentioned something about an Espada. I think he defeated one."
He let out a chuckle, eyes fond. "That's my son for you, huh? Well, no time to waste. Let's move."
She followed feeling an immeasurable amount of guilt.
Part III
When the Espada returned, Chad felt a certain thrill go through him, one that he hadn't felt in a very long time.
It was the thrill of knowing that what you were about to do next was completely insane and believing in it anyway. It was the feeling you got when you thought you were about to pull off something amazing.
He supposed he should thank Uryuu for making him feel such a thing.
A while ago, he realized that Uryuu was different somehow. There was a bright-eyed enthusiasm to him, a drive and determination. Chad wondered vaguely if this meant that he had a type, but he wasn't willing to dwell on that now.
Now, his little group needed him to stay focused. He nodded to Uryuu from across the room. They were ready.
It had taken them only a few minutes to set up the five "Seele Schneider", as Uryuu had called them. Set up in a specific formation, they would allow him to do an attack that would hopefully finish this for good.
"Now!" Uryuu cried, and at that the Espada froze, alarmed, right before a pillar of light surrounded him, shooting up to the ceiling and illuminating the arena. Squinting against it, Chad saw the Espada move within the beam. No way he was letting him escape.
"Bakudō Number Four, Hainawa!" The Espada let out a shriek, a bolt of lightning surrounding him, holding him fast.
Chaos erupted right after, Hollows flying through the doors, attempting to get to their master, their two Hollow companions yelling in alarm as they were shoved aside. Uryuu picked them off, three at a time, and for a moment Chad was so mesmerized by the display he didn't notice that Szayel had gotten one arm free.
"You bastards!" he cried. "You'll pay for this! Fornicarás!"
He swung his sword over his head, plunging it down before Chad was able to do anything. He swallowed it.
For a second, the four allies did nothing, just stood and stared. Even the two Hollows were stunned silent, Pesche barely managing a gasp as he took a cautious step back.
A pulse went through the air like a heartbeat, and with it the Espada let out what could only be described as a moan of pleasure. (Guess he does know what that word means…) The moan shifted, though, turning into shouts that grew so painful they turned to screams. Then, just as suddenly as it started it stopped.
"What…" Dondochaka gasped.
"…the hell is that?" Uryuu's eyes were wide, bewildered.
The human looking Espada had shifted to a disgusting degree, his lower half replaced by tentacles that kept him rooted to the ground, holding him several meters over their heads. He had a pair of skeletal wings on his back, and if the attack from earlier had hurt him, Chad couldn't tell.
"Much better," Szayel moaned. "I didn't want to have to do this, but you've really left me no choice."
"I don't like where this is going!" Pesche cried.
"With this I declare the Second Act to have begun! Though I'm afraid it will be rather brief."
Ink erupted from his wings, splattering across the room, right towards them.
"Run!" Chad warned, and a mad dash begun.
"Wh-what is that stuff?" Dondochaka yelled. He snapped his eyes shut against the splatter that went right across his mask.
"I think we're about to find out," Uryuu groaned.
For a moment, the ink bubbled, Dondochaka giving no real reaction aside from a noise of alarm, and then it slid off his face and onto the ground, sprouting a form that looked just like him. It turned on the Hollow menacingly.
That's not good.
Uryuu was next, his cape being splattered with it, several identical twins popping into existence, bruises and all. Chad was soon enough left staring at versions of himself, blank eyed and stiff.
The Espada let out a roaring laugh. "The stage is set! All characters are present! Action!"
In less than a minute they were surrounded by clones, Uryuu and Chad back to back against Szayel's army. The clones approached slowly and silently.
"This is like a bad joke," Uryuu said with a smirk.
"Greater in battle than the man who would conquer a thousand-thousand men, is he who would conquer just one, himself," Pesche said sagely.
"Very zen," Chad agreed. Uryuu barked out a laugh, firing in the crowd. He then balked as about ten or so arrows came right back at him, Chad shoving him aside just in time to absorb the blows with his shield. With a start he noticed many of his clones activating their own shields. Huh.
He aimed a punch at the closest version of himself he could find, landing one right on its cheek, only for it to do the same, taking the exact same stance, poofing out of existence in the very next moment.
This was getting weird.
"What the–?!" Uryuu cried suddenly, dodging away from Dondochaka's strike.
"Uryuu? That is you… right?"
"Seriously! The differences aren't that hard to tell! Check the eyes!"
"Pesche isn't wearing pants," Chad supplied. "The fake one is."
"Hey! I find them restrictive!"
"Whatever!" Uryuu yelled. "Just keep your heads in the game goddammit!"
That was easier said than done. His companions were having a visibly difficult time, the two Hollows shyly dancing around theirs, trying not to get hit. He could barely even see what Uryuu was doing, his side of things being just a mess of arrows.
It wasn't like he was doing much better. His clones hit about as hard as he did. It didn't help that they seemed to know his moves, mimicking him to the very second.
He paused. He had an idea. Both arms were required for this one, though.
"Brazo Izquierda del Diablo!" White and red armor covered his left arm in a flash. This arm had a more offensive focus, meaning it wasn't really his style. The Giantess was always bothering him about practicing with it more.
What better time than the present.
"Take cover!" he yelled, right before about twenty clones activated their left arms as well. He ran to the pillars of the room, threw back a fist, and cried, "La Muerte!"
His punch landed, and so did twenty others. For a second the building groaned, metal and stone scattering. Then, it all collapsed. He flung his shield arm over his head.
Things got… hazy after that. Everything was dark and dusty. Stone came down with even more force then anticipated. Then, things were quiet. He shoved off the rubble to a bright sun.
Uryuu burst out next to him, gasping. "Now I know you're Shiba's friend. You're crazy!"
"I'll take that as a compliment." Uryuu rolled his eyes.
It worked, from the looks of things. There was nothing but crumbled stone and sand around them, no clones, and no Espada in sight. For a moment he wondered if their Arrancar companions made it through alright, but he had faith in them. They seemed like the sturdy kind.
"So, what?" Uryuu panted out. "You think that took care of the weeirdo?"
"Not sure…" he trailed off, seeing more stone shift in the distance. The first thing that burst through was a tentacle, and Chad's heart dropped.
A writhing mass of the things crawled out, falling open just as they were freed from the stone, and out tumbled the Espada, flanked by two Hollows that most certainly were not there before.
He looked pissed.
"Look…" he growled out. "Look what you've done to my palace! What am I going to tell Lord Aizen, huh? Huh?!"
He drew back with a sneer, snapping his fingers, the two Hollows, kneeling beside him.
"I'm done playing softball. You two will know the true power of Fornicarás."
Things were still not looking good.
I need a break, real bad. I'm posting the interlude next week but expect the next update to be sometime in October. IDK yet about the exact date. Reviews help with motivation if you'd like it sooner.
